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Crypton Future Media, Inc.
Crypton Future Media, Inc. is an importer of sound devices based in Sapporo, Japan. This company is also known as the developer of the Character Vocal Series, and current MEIKO and KAITO voices. About Crypton Future Media, Inc. was established in 1995 as an importer and seller of music software. Crypton joined VOCALOID development in May 2002, Crypton's first two Vocaloids were MEIKO (2004) and KAITO (2006). MEIKO and KAITO were originally developed by Yamaha with Crypton Future Media as the distributor. It was not until Hatsune Miku , released in August 2007 that Crypton Future Media and Miku herself, became popular. When Crypton began to use the VOCALOID2 engine they created the "Character Vocal Series," which would later produce a trend of using 'avatars' or 'mascots' to represent voice synthesizer programs. The success of this commercial strategy made Crypton one of the leading vocal synth developers. According to Crypton, because professional singers refused to provide singing data (vocalists feared the software might create clones of their singing voices), Crypton changed their focus from imitating singers to creating characteristic vocals. This goal change led to them sampling the vocals of voice actors.https://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/0802/22/news013.html| How Hatsune Miku was Born: IT Media News, Feb 22, 2008. Crypton's Piapro Studio terms of use are as follows: Any rights or obligations arising from the vocals created by the software belong to the software user. Just like any music synthesizer, the software is treated as a musical instrument and the vocals as sound. Under the terms of license, the Character Vocal Series software can be used to create vocals for commercial or non-commercial use, as long as the vocals do not offend public policy. In other words, the user is bound under the terms of license with Crypton not to synthesize derogatory or disturbing lyrics. On the other hand, copyright of the mascot image and name belong to Crypton. Under the terms of license, a user cannot commercially distribute a vocal as a song sung by the character, nor use the mascot image on commercial products without Crypton's consent. https://piapro.jp/license/pcl| Piapro Character License At the 2010 New York Comic-Con, a U.S. store was announced. Currently, Crypton's vocal synth products can be found on the SONICWIRE website under the Virtual Instruments category. Crypton Future Media announced they will cease the production of VOCALOID voicebanks on 31st August, 2019. They are moving their characters to their independent vocal synth engine, Piapro Studio. https://blog.crypton.co.jp/l/2019/08/n1908311/| Crypton Blog Post: Leaving VOCALOID https://twitter.com/labopton/status/1167698329389551616?s=19| Twitter Post Important People Promotions Sites Piapro Crypton set up Piapro to reslove issues related to copyright. Under the Japanese law code, which strictly preserves the original creator's right, secondary fan arts may be interpreted as copyright violation. In response, Crypton approved these productions in the licensePiapro Character License similar to Creative Commons (Note: Crypton is NOT a member of the association). Users are encouraged to post illustrations, music, and lyrics onto Piapro. The site authorizes the use of fan-made creations for non-commercial purposes automatically when posted. This arrangement is solely for products distributed by and derivatives adopted by Crypton. The Chinese language collaboration website for Crypton's characters, similar to Piapro, is Poppro. Labopton BLOG "Technical Research Department Blog. Disseminating system, architect, and technology information." Services KARENT A VOCALOID/voice synthesizer music label. Music is distributed from the iTunes Store, Amazon Music, Spotify, and more. SONOCA A card-type music media for smartphones. Music can be downloaded directly to a smartphone using a unique QR code. This can be viewed new proposal for creators to release their work. It combines the sense of ownership as a product and the convenience of downloading. ROUTER.FM A music distribution service site for independent musicians. Distribution occurs in online stores such as iTunes Store / Amazon MP3 / Beatport in Japan. R3 Real-time 3DCG control system. (R3) is a system that controls 3DCG and a singing voice in real time. By using the system, a character can sing and dance to a band or orchestra. The system can create a concert that integrates with the player in response to real-time changes in tempo, shaking, and acceleration/deceleration indicated by the conductor. Kiite A music discovery service that uses music impression analysis and music recommendation to efficiently search and find music from a vast libraty. Initially, Miku Hatsune and other vocaloid songs are included.https://www.crypton.co.jp/cfm/project_category/other Trivia Crypton Future Media has stated they will not create a cartoon series based on the Piapro Characters. https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2011/07/21/crn-interview-the-creators-of-hatsune-miku| CRN: Interview with CFM References